The U.S. House of Representatives is proposing to eliminate AmeriCorps, the 30-year program that provides the people power that local nonprofit, faith-based, and community organizations train and deploy to respond to our country’s most immediate and critical needs.
If this happens, it will have a devastating effect on the GO Foundation and the work we do to advance student academic achievement, school attendance, and social emotional learning in systemically under-resourced schools and communities across the Northeast US.
AmeriCorps grants enable the GO Foundation to deploy 268 individuals to provide high-dosage tutoring in math and ELA, mentorship, and enrichment opportunities to more than 3,000 students in K-12 district and charter schools in New York City; Boston, MA; Washington, DC; Connecticut; and New Jersey.
Research shows that our program model works and is making a real difference in student academic achievement, school attendance, and social emotional learning. The following key findings from our data underscore the success of our program:
- Attendance
At our largest partner in DC, we collected attendance data for all students at the school, which allowed for a comparison of those with and without a Fellow. The results showed a trend in reducing chronic absenteeism among students who work closely with a Fellow. The chronic absenteeism rate decreases by about 10 percentage points between students who work most closely with a Fellow and other students who are not supported by a GO Fellow. This suggests that our program effectively encourages regular school attendance.
- Short-Term Academic Impact (Mid-Year Growth SY23-24)
NYC-Based School Partner:
We found a notable increase in the percentage of students on grade level in both reading and mathematics from fall to winter. Specifically, the percentage of students on grade level in reading increased by 5.4 percentage points and in mathematics by 3.1 percentage points.
Washington, DC-Based School Partner:
GO conducted an analysis of student results for students with and without a GO Fellow. The data showed that 50% of students with a Fellow met the fall-to-winter MAP growth target in mathematics, compared to 33.3% of students without a Fellow.
CT-Based School Partner:
GO conducted a fall-to-winter grade-level equivalency analysis which showed that students paired with Fellows exhibit greater improvement in literacy compared to those without Fellows. Students with Fellows increased their grade-level equivalency from 4.46 to 4.74, while those without Fellows increased from 5.00 to 5.19. The larger increase for students with a Fellow underscores the effectiveness of our program in enhancing literacy skills.
- SY22-23 Academic Impact
Last year, at sites where comparison data was available, students with a GO Fellow demonstrated greater gains in Math than students without a GO Fellow. On average, the group of students with a GO Fellow began the year in the 25th percentile in math, or the bottom quartile. By the end of the year, that group of students was, on average, in the 43rd percentile. Meanwhile, the comparison group of students who did not have the benefit of a GO Fellow began the year in the 43rd percentile and ended the year in the 40th percentile.
- Long-Term Academic Impact
At GO’s longest running school partner in Newark, NJ (dating to 2011), 62% of recently graduating students are attending college, compared with just 31% of graduates of the Newark School District’s non-magnet high schools who do not have the benefit of a tutor.
- Student Survey Results on Critical SEL Indicators
The student survey results from students at a CT-based partner who participated in our student satisfaction survey indicate overwhelmingly positive feedback on various SEL indicators. Key highlights include:
- 100% of students feel that their GO Fellows are encouraging, respectful, and caring.
- 92% of students report positive relationships with their GO Fellows and feel that their tutors respect their culture.
- 83% of students feel confident in understanding the material during tutorials and believe they can improve their grades with the support of their GO Fellows.
- These results reflect the strong SEL support provided by our Fellows, contributing to a positive and conducive learning environment.
Without AmeriCorps, the GO Foundation will not be able to provide the critical, impactful high-dosage tutoring, mentoring, and enrichment opportunities we are currently able to provide to students across the Northeast US. As a result, students’ academic performance, school attendance, and social emotional learning will be negatively impacted. We need to invest in expanding and strengthening AmeriCorps so that we can help more students, not less.